US Election 2020 VP debate highlights: President Trump refused to condemn White supremacists, says Kamala Harris

Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President traded barbs on the Covid-19 pandemic and economic plans for recovery from the havoc that Covid-19 has wreaked on the American economy, climate change policies, Affordable Care Act, foreign policy and Trump's tax returns.

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Joe has known pain, suffering and love, says Kamala Harris.

When the debate is over, we come together as Americans, says Mike Pence in answer to the question posed by Utah school student.

Susan Page ends the debate with a question from an 8th grader in Utah.

I think we will win this election, says Mike Pence.

When Joe Biden was vice president, the FBI spied on Donald Trump's and my campaign, says Mike Pence.

What would you personally do, asks Susan Page on the question of peaceful transfer of power.

Kamala Harris urges citizens to vote. If we use our vote, if we use our voice, we will win, she adds.

Joe and I are particularly proud of the coalition we have built around the campaign, says Kamala Harris.

President Trump has Jewish grandchildren, says Mike Pence.

President Trump refused to condemn White supremacists in the last debate, says Kamala Harris.

I will not sit here and be lectured on enforcing laws in this country, says Kamala Harris.

There is no excuse for the rioting and looting that followed, says Mike Pence on protests for George Floyd.

We will expunge records of those who are convicted of marijuana, if we come to power, says Kamala Harris.

Breonna Taylor's family deserves justice, says Kamala Harris.

Senator Kamala Harris takes the audience through a history lesson, talks about Abraham Lincoln's decision to let the American people go through the presidential election first before nominating a judge to be a Supreme Court justice.

How would your administration would protect people with pre-existing conditions, Susan Page asks Mike Pence if Affordable Care Act were overturned.

Over 4 million people have voted. Joe has been very clear, let the American people fill the seat in the White House and we will fill the seat in the Supreme Court, says Kamala Harris.

If Row v. Wade is overturned what would you want your home state to do, asks Susan Page.

Joe Biden opposed the raid against Osama bin Laden, says Mike Pence.

Moderator Susan Page moves on to the segment of the judiciary.

I can assure you, President Trump reveres all the people serving in the Armed Forces.

After the attack on Qassem Soleimani, there was a retaliation. Our soldiers suffered brain injuries. Trump dismissed them as headaches, says Kamala Harris

I'm so sorry, says Kamala Harris to Kayla Mueller's parents.

We destroyed the ISIS caliphate, says Mike Pence.

Mike Pence is doing GREAT! She is a gaffe machine, tweets Trump

We were in the Iran nuclear deal with friends. Trump's isolationism and unilateral way to make decisions has put us in the position we are in, says Mike Pence.

You've got to be loyal to your friends, says Kamala Harris on foreign policy. Donald Trump has embraced dictators around the world.

Our allies and other countries hold Xi Jinping in better respect that Donald Trump, the commander in chief of the United States, says Kamala Harris.

There is a weird obsession that President Trump has had with dismantling what President Obama did, says Kamala Harris.

Moderator Susan Page asks the same question to Kamala Harris.

This administration has stood up to China, says Mike Pence.

Kamala Harris is the most liberal in Senate, says Pence quoting Newsweek magazine.

How would you describe our relationship with China, asks moderator Susan Page.

Joe Biden never fought the trade war. Under Obama-Biden, we lost 200,000 jobs, says Mike Pence.

The President's trade war with China, you lost the trade war. America lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs, says Kamala Harris.

“Biden believes the Green New Deal is a crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face,” according to his campaign website, which touts his plan as a “Clean Energy Revolution.” says Mike Pence.

Let's see who is more prepared to lead the country the next four years from an existential threat, Joe has a plan, says Kamala Harris

The West Coast of the US is burning, including my home state of California. Joe believes in science, says Kamala Harris.

What would the Biden administration's stand be on the Green New Deal, asks moderator Page.

There are no more hurricanes than there were hundred years ago, says Mike Pence.

The climate is changing, what's the cause and what is changing, says Pence. Biden would put us back in the Paris climate accordms, he adds, saying that it would crush American energy.

If you don't mind letting me finish, Kamala Harris tells Mike Pence on a conversation on tax cuts.

The latest economic data shows the robust recovery that the administration talks about, says moderator Page.

Donald Trump measures the economy based on how rich people are. American people have to pay for a $2 trillion budget deficit, says Kamala Harris.

He has paid tens of millions of dollars in taxes. He has created thousands of jobs, says Mike Pence.

Donald Trump is in debt for $400 mn dollars. It would be good to know who is owed money. American people need to know, says Kamala Harris. Joe Biden is transparent, she adds.

The care that the President received at Walter Reed Hospital is exceptional. I am just extremely grateful for the well wishes Americans had for President Trump, says Mike Pence.

Biggest failure in presidential history, says Harris

“The American people havewitnessed what is the greatestfailure of any presidentialadministration in the history ofour country,” Harris said at the beginning of the debate before attacking the Trump administration for "distorting" the facts around Covid-19.

Stop playing politics with people's lives, says Vice President Mike Pence to Kamala Harris.

If the Dr Fauci if the doctors say we should take it (Covid-19 vaccine), I will be the first in line to take it. If Donald Trump says we should take it, I won't, says Kamala Harris.

You respect the American people when you tell them the truth, says Kamala Harris.

How can you expect American people to follow Covid-19 guidelines when the administration is not able to, asks moderator Susan Page, referring to the Rose Garden event at the White House.

American people I believe deserve credit for what they have done for the country, says Mike Pence.

You'll always be in our hearts and in our prayers, says Mike Pence to the people who have lost their loved ones to Covid-19.

Harris calls Trump administration's pandemic response a failure. In what is a change from last week's debate, Pence, head of the White House coronavirus task force, is not jumping in to refute the claim, but following the debate rules and waiting for his turn to respond.

President Trump has put the health of America first, says Vice President Mike Pence. He suspended all travel from China. Joe Biden opposed that decision. That decision alone by President Trump, bought us time, saved hundreds of thousands of American lives, says Mike Pence.

They knew what was happening and didn't tell you, they covered it up, says Kamala Harris on the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kamala Harris details the statistics of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States.

What would a Biden-Harris administration do that the Trump-Pence administration hasn't, asks Susan Page.

Pence and Harris sit over 12 feet apart with two plexiglass shields between them.

Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief of USA Today and moderator of today's debate explains rules and guidelines.

Once the vice-presidential debate begins — provided both candidates actually show up — Pence and Harris will be seated 12 feet 3 inches apart, with Page seated a similar distance from them.

The Commission on Presidential Debates will allow Harris and the debate’s moderator, Susan Page, the Washington bureau chief for USA Today, to surround themselves with plexiglass shields. Pence’s aides at first suggested he would not use one but Tuesday night told the commission he would.

The only vice presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence will take place at University of Utah at Salt Lake City.

Watch the debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence live here

Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short, said there is “zero risk” of the vice president pulling out of the debate over the plexiglass spat. He said Pence “will be there” because it's “too important for the American people.” “The hesitancy seems to be on other side,” he added.

Pence, who was with Trump and others last week who have since tested positive, has faced questions about whether he should be at the debate at all. The vice president has repeatedly tested negative for the virus, and his staff and doctors insist he does not need to quarantine under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Ultimately, the debate is a chance for voters to decide whether Pence and Harris are in a position to step into the presidency at a moment's notice. It's hardly a theoretical question as the 74-year-old Trump combats the virus, and Biden, at 77, would become the oldest person to become president if he's elected.

For Harris, the debate is her highest-profile opportunity to vocalize how the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, would stabilise the US, especially when it comes to resolving the pandemic and addressing racial injustice. She will be able to explain her views on law enforcement, an area in which she's viewed warily by some progressives, given her past as a prosecutor.